It was a very hard game. Suwon played well, but we took our chances and scored goals. We are very happy as this was a very important game for us. We are looking forward to the next game and we still believe we have a chance to go to the next round.

Tsing Tao Player-of-the-Match winner Adrian Mierzejewski remains optimistic of a place in the Round of 16 after Sydney FC's 4-1 win away at Suwon Samsung Bluewings.

---

Played at the Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium, both teams came into the match knowing a win would guarantee progression to the knockout rounds and it was the home side who struck first in the most fortuitous of circumstances.

Melbourne Victory goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas received a back pass and controlled the ball before attempting to clear the ball long, but he delayed too long and his clearance was blocked by Junior Negrao, with the ball deflecting over Thomas’ head and into the open net.

If there was an element of luck to their opening goal, that certainly wasn’t the case on 20 minutes when they doubled their lead. Hwang Il-su made a gut-busting run down the right, crossing the ball into the box where Lim Jong-eun poked home to give the home side a 2-0 lead, before Orsic added a third just over five minutes before half time.

Despite an early goal for last year's runners-up, Al Ain regrouped and applied constant pressure on their opponents to force Al Hilal defenders into conceding three penalties, two of which Marcus Berg converted for a 2-1 win.

Al Hilal go narrow and tight

Juan Brown set up his Al Hilal side in a conservative 4-2-3-1 formation, experimenting with several players in new positions . Full-back Yasser Al Shahrani was employed in the left-wing position to cut inside and combine with the likes of Mohammed Al Shalhoub and Fahad Al Rashidi in midfield, while also providing coverage for Abdulla Al Zori in the defensive phase.

Hosts Esteghlal never looked troubled by the visitors, who were restricted to half-chances by an impressive back-line. One of many long-distance shots almost reduced the deficit later on in the second half, but the post denied Al Rayyan a way back into the match.

---

Noorafkan leads from the back

Starlet Omid Noorafkan shone brightly at left-back against his Qatari opponents, who rarely threatened down his flank all match long.

Much is expected of the youngster, who broke into the first team aged just 18, a club record. Just days after scoring his first-ever league goal, a winner against Naft Tehran on Thursday, Noorafkan completed three dribbles and had 94 touches of the ball against opponents who had no answer to his quality.

The scoring was opened in the 16th minute of this Group G encounter, as Eiichi Katayama arrived late and unmarked in the six yard box to prod home an Atomu Tanaka corner.

Yoichiro Kakitani put the hosts 2-0 up 18 minutes later, tapping into an open net after some great approach play by Takaki Fukumitsu and Kazuya Yamamura on the right.

Jeju managed to pull one back through Jin Seong-uk with a bullet header in the 92nd minute, but that proved too little too late as the visitors were unable to salvage any points from the game.

The visitors got off to the perfect start, taking an early lead when Mohammed Al Burayk fired a curling free-kick from 25 yards out that nestled into the top corner of goalkeeper Khalid Eisa's net seven minutes into the game.

Despite the shaky start, Al Ain regrouped and started to threaten. Their first real sight of goal came in the 20th minutes when Omar Abdulrahman produced a brilliant pass to Marcus Berg right, but the Swede's attempt was cleared off the goal line by Al Burayk.

Al Hilal's defender Mohammed Jahfali was penalised after a reckless tackle on Abdulrahman inside the 18-yards-box, but Al Ain's number 10 failed to deliver from the spot as goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi was quick to make the save in the 24th minute.

Five minutes before the break, Abdulrahman was brought down in the box by defender Ali Al Bulayhi and Berg stepped up to take the penalty, successfully levelling the score.

Al Ain kept the pressure on their opponents and there was still time for them to be awarded a third penalty of the night before half-time when Rayan Yslam was fouled by Fahad Al Rashidi, and Berg was once again clinical to net his side's second in added time.

Having already booked a place in the Round of 16, Al Duhail rested the star front duo of Youssef Msakni and Youssef El Arabi for the trip to Isfahan. Despite their absence, Al Duhail managed to hold their own against a Zobahan side that desperately needed a win.

Chances were far and few in between during the first half with neither side managing to pose any real danger for their opponents. Things improved after the break, with Zobahan coming close to scoring on multiple occasions.